Persuasive Essay On Healthy People 2020
Healthy People 2020: Genetic Testing
The objective that I chose from the Healthy People 2020 Objectives was to increase the proportion of genetic testing. This is a new objective, having not been included in Healthy People 2010. The genomics discipline is a budding field and it concerns the study of an individual’s genome. Genomics uses knowledge of the molecular source of a disease in order to help predict, treat and quantify the likelihood of disease reoccurrence.
For years, Katie Couric and other public figures have emphasized the importance of colon cancer screening, urging Americans to get screened since this is one of the few cancers that can be prevented. These communication efforts have broken the silence on both colonoscopies and colon cancer, helping erase the stigma around the screening process. Research on the genomics of cancer, colon cancer being an example, has taught us that the information within the biology of the tumor is crucial to understanding how it will behave and progress. …show more content…
The question is how Genomic health education will help reach the objective set forth by Healthy People 2020.
From a patient’s perspective, people tend to see genetic information as more definitive, in the sense that 'you cannot change your genes' and that 'genes tell all about your future.’ Such genetic determinism is an oversimplification and does not take into account the nature of biologic pathways. From a provider’s perspective, genomics presents challenges with respect to ethical and professional responsibilities, including the appropriate use of genomic information in the health care setting. I believe that there should be an identification of provider education programs that increase use of appropriate screening, counseling and evidence-based genetic tests. By increasing the effectiveness of genomic testing, it will help dissolve the negative association and further increase the proportion of people who are willing to receive genetic
testing.
Due to the fact that genomics is a relatively new and radical change to healthcare, its effectiveness begins with physician education. The limited ability of physicians to determine which patients should receive certain genetic tests often compromises the value of genetically geared medicine. If the physician community is not well enough versed in genetics to do the test, inaccurate testing keeps the payer from seeing the cost-savings that the technology promises could yield. Although effective, if the test does not benefit or address a particular patient’s need, a patient’s confidence is not likely to increase. Primary care physicians need to be well versed on genetic testing and patients need to know that these tests exist and are accurate. If primary care doctors and gynecologists are the ones who evaluate patients and offer them genetic counseling, testing won’t have to begin with oncologists. Furthermore, improved confidence should increase the proportions of genetic testing in the population throughout the decade.
The objective that I chose from the Healthy People 2020 Objectives was to increase the proportion of genetic testing. This is a new objective, having not been included in Healthy People 2010. The genomics discipline is a budding field and it concerns the study of an individual’s genome. Genomics uses knowledge of the molecular source of a disease in order to help predict, treat and quantify the likelihood of disease reoccurrence.
For years, Katie Couric and other public figures have emphasized the importance of colon cancer screening, urging Americans to get screened since this is one of the few cancers that can be prevented. These communication efforts have broken the silence on both colonoscopies and colon cancer, helping erase the stigma around the screening process. Research on the genomics of cancer, colon cancer being an example, has taught us that the information within the biology of the tumor is crucial to understanding how it will behave and progress. …show more content…
The question is how Genomic health education will help reach the objective set forth by Healthy People 2020.
From a patient’s perspective, people tend to see genetic information as more definitive, in the sense that 'you cannot change your genes' and that 'genes tell all about your future.’ Such genetic determinism is an oversimplification and does not take into account the nature of biologic pathways. From a provider’s perspective, genomics presents challenges with respect to ethical and professional responsibilities, including the appropriate use of genomic information in the health care setting. I believe that there should be an identification of provider education programs that increase use of appropriate screening, counseling and evidence-based genetic tests. By increasing the effectiveness of genomic testing, it will help dissolve the negative association and further increase the proportion of people who are willing to receive genetic
testing.
Due to the fact that genomics is a relatively new and radical change to healthcare, its effectiveness begins with physician education. The limited ability of physicians to determine which patients should receive certain genetic tests often compromises the value of genetically geared medicine. If the physician community is not well enough versed in genetics to do the test, inaccurate testing keeps the payer from seeing the cost-savings that the technology promises could yield. Although effective, if the test does not benefit or address a particular patient’s need, a patient’s confidence is not likely to increase. Primary care physicians need to be well versed on genetic testing and patients need to know that these tests exist and are accurate. If primary care doctors and gynecologists are the ones who evaluate patients and offer them genetic counseling, testing won’t have to begin with oncologists. Furthermore, improved confidence should increase the proportions of genetic testing in the population throughout the decade.